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Appearing in the 3/31/2006 edition of Event News
By Jeffery Patch

FULLERTON, Calif.—Long Beach State’s Jared Hughes fought through nine tough innings as No. 4-ranked Cal State Fullerton’s Wes Roemer did the same through eight. The two were matched in a pitcher’s duel that wasn’t decided until the 11th inning.

Hughes had a rough first inning, loading the bases by hitting a batter and issuing a walk after shortstop Danny Espinosa allowed Brett Pill to reach on a throwing error, but the Dirtbags managed to get out unscathed as Fullerton catcher John Curtis grounded out to second for the final out.

Hughes went a full nine innings and allowed only one run—a solo home run to Pill—on four hits, striking out five and walking two. While it would have been a game to remember for Hughes, Roemer managed to hold the Dirtbags to only one run as well, sending the game into extra innings.

Brandon Godfrey began the fifth inning with a double for the Dirtbags and scored thanks to a pair of sacrifice groundouts. Read the rest of this entry »

Published in the 3/24/2006 edition of Event News
By Jeffery Patch

TUCSON, Ariz.—No. 7-ranked Cal State Fullerton headed to Arizona State University for a three-game series against the No. 16-ranked Wildcats and sent Titan Ace Wes Roemer (5-0) to the mound to face Wildcat starter Eric Berger (3-4).Roemer didn’t show the control the Titans have come to expect from him, giving up four earned runs on five hits, but still managed to pull in the victory as the Fullerton bats put five runs on the board through the first six innings.

Jared Clark started the fifth inning off with a walk and advanced to second as the catcher let a pitch get by him. A wild pitch then allowed Clark to advance to third. John Curtis followed with a single to left allowing Clark to easily score from third base. Read the rest of this entry »

Published in the 3/24/2006 edition of Event News
By Jeffery Patch

LONG BEACH, Calif.–The Long Beach State Dirtbags lost their third straight series and fell to .500 on the season after being swept over the weekend by the Wichita State Shockers.

The common theme throughout the weekend as poor pitching performances as the three starters combined for 5.23 ERA.

Jered Hughes (4-1) began the game Friday night by allowing three runs on four hits after retiring the first two batters during the first inning en route to his first loss of the season. Read the rest of this entry »

Published in the 3/17/2006 edition of Event News
By Jeffery Patch

FULLERTON, CA—Wes Roemer (4-0) struck out a career-high 12 batters Friday night in a complete game shutout as the No. 7-ranked Titans shutout the visiting East Carolina Pirates 5-0.

It took the Titans just one inning to score their five runs when Jared Clark drew a two-out bases loaded walk for the first run of the game. John Curtis followed with a bases-clearing double to right center and then scored on a Brandon Tripp double down the left field line.

Curtis was responsible for half of the Titan’s hits going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Read the rest of this entry »

Published in the 3/17/2006 edition of Event News
By Jeffery Patch

AUSTIN, TX—No. 19-ranked Long Beach State suffered a tough 4-3 loss to the Texas Longhorns Friday, as the bullpen was unable to hold on to the Dirtbag’s lead in the late innings.

Jered Hughes (0-4) held the defending national champions scoreless through seven before giving up a run in the eighth inning.

Texas lead off batter Nick Peoples tripled in the eighth off Hughes and then scored on a groundout by first baseman Chance Wheeless.

While hanging on to a 3-1 lead Hughes allowed a walk to start off the bottom of the ninth. Donnie Hume (0-1) came in to close out the game but wasn’t successful. Read the rest of this entry »

Legendary Minnesota Twins outfielder Kirby Puckett died Monday after suffering a major stroke at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. at the age of 45.

Puckett, a 10-time All Star, was drafted by the Twins in the first round of the 1982 draft and was with the organization for his entire career, helping the team win the 1987 and 1991 World Series titles–the only two championships since the Twins move to Minnesota in 1961.

Puckett won multiple Gold Glove awards and batting titles, but was forced to retire in 1996 after losing vision in his right eye due to complications with glaucoma.

He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2001—his first year of eligibility—becoming the third youngest player to be elected. Read the rest of this entry »

Published in the 3/10/2006 edition of Event News
By Jeffery Patch

LOS ANGELES, CA—The Dirtbags drove up the freeway Tuesday to face Loyola Marymount on their home turf and was engaged in a three-and-a-half hour back-and-forth scoring battle.

Cline put the Dirtbags on the board in the first, scoring on a bases-loaded, double-play ball hit by Struble.

And so the battle started. LMU took the lead in the third when starting pitcher Scott Turmail allowed a pair of RBI doubles.

With the score tied in the seventh, Long Beach re-took the lead with a trio of singles. Cline hit the third single of the inning, driving in Tito Cruz and Shane Peterson.

LMU scored again in the eighth but fell short, needing one more run to tie the game.

Cline went 3-for-3 with four RBI. Coach Weathers will have a difficult time deciding who to play at second base when Chuck
Sindlinger recovers from the flu as Cline has proven to be more than capable of handling the every-day duties.

Cruz and Peterson also had three-hit games, each going 3-for-4.

The Dirtbags (11-7) dropped to No. 22 on the Baseball America polls following their 1-3 losing series against Baylor. This weekend they’ll travel to the Lone Star State for the second time of the season, for a three game series against the defending national champion Texas Longhorns.

Published in the 3/10/2006 edition of Event News
By Jeffery Patch

LONG BEACH, CA—The Long Beach State Dirtbags fell to Baylor for the second straight game Sunday, losing the series and only taking one game from the Bears last weekend.

The loss marked the first game of the season in which Long Beach out hit the opposing team but did not pull a victory.

Second baseman Matt Cline went 2-for-3, increasing his hitting streak to six games.

Vance Worley (1-3) earned the loss and hit two batters during his six innings of work, allowing four earned runs on four hits, while only striking out one. The freshman has shown control through his four starts this season, but hasn’t had the Dirtbag’s offense on his side, only averaging about two runs in each of his losses.

Jose Hernandez put Long Beach on the board in the second inning with a bases-empty home run to left and Danny Espinosa grounded out in the third to drive in Cline.

The Dirtbags (10-7) visit Loyola Marymount Tuesday and then travel to Austin for a three-game series against the No. 14-ranked University of Texas Longhorns beginning Friday.

Published in the 3/10/2006 edition of Orange County News
By Jeffery Patch

HOUSTON, TX—No. 7-ranked Cal State Fullerton was defeated in extra innings Friday by the No. 4-ranked Rice Owls in a come-from-behind victory at Reckling Park in Texas.

Josh Rodriguez’s 10th inning walk-off blast made the difference in the close game where neither team trailed by more than one run in the game.

Titan starter Wes Roemer began the bottom of the first by hitting Rice leadoff batter Tyler Henley and then sent him to second with a balk. After advancing to third on a ground out by Greg Buchanan, Joe Savery drove in Henley with a single to right to put the Owls on the board.

Read the rest of this entry »

Published in the 3/10/2006 edition of Event News
By Jeffery Patch

LONG BEACH, CA—Saturday afternoon saw another close game—this time Baylor was the victor in the 5-3 win.

Long Beach put the first runs of the game on the board during the fourth inning with Jose Hernandez driving in Danny Espinosa from third. After advancing to second on a fielder’s choice, Hernandez was driven in by a Jordan Struble single to right field. Matt Cline also earned an RBI with a single to left, driving in Brian Capon.

With Andrew Carpenter (2-1) on the mound, Baylor scored in the sixth with three-straight singles—ending his 17 scoreless innings streak. The Bears scored another with a squeeze play before ending the inning.

Carpenter gave up two more in the seventh before coach Mike Weathers called Brett Andrade in to take over who retired the next two batters to end the inning. Andrew Liebal gave up the fifth and final run in the eighth for a final score of 5-3.